Spitzer Grumpily Drops License Plan

Eliot Spitzer said last night, in his cranky-principled fashion, that today he will announce his intention to drop all plans to grant licenses to illegal immigrants. In an interview with the Times, the governor cited the massive opposition to the plan, which has snowballed since he first announced the idea in September and which has lately been affecting not only his favorability ratings, but also Hillary Clinton’s, after the senator was asked about it in a debate and was, well, not un-positive, saying that although the plan made “a lot of sense” she did not specifically support it. Spitzer said that it was not these things that stopped him from proceeding, but that he expected the plan would ultimately be blocked by clerks or the DMV. “I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented,” he told the Times

In the interview, the governor sounded disappointed but resigned. He acknowledged that he would be criticized for changing course on the issue for the second time in three weeks. (“You think so?” he said facetiously when a reporter suggested asmuch.)